Exploring the prehistoric world of the dinosaur in a miniature environment is sure to be popular with the children. Whether it involves taking charge of a tyrannosaurus rex, or developing the rhythmic stomping of a brontosaurus, having mastery over such fascinating creatures is an important experience for young learners; boys and girls alike.
Offering a range of possibilities to use dinosaur figures in a variety of small-world scenarios can stimulate the imagination, make prior knowledge and understandings explicit and unlock the potential for a range of cross-curricular learning experiences.
Children are drawn to small-world play, as they enjoy being 'in control' of the imaginary environment, moving, organising and breathing life into its inhabitants.
Being creative with these environments will offer numerous opportunities for story-making, problem-solving and scientific investigations within a context that is meaningful and exciting for the children.
While putting dinosaur figures in a tray on a bed of dry sand will offer one kind of experience, experimenting with a range of substances and textures increases the linguistic, mathematical and scientific potential of such play.
Each environment offered will also stimulate the use of a different range of vocabulary. Different children enjoy and are stimulated by differing resources. Therefore, the greater the variety offered, the more children will feel motivated to engage in the activity.
It is best practice, wherever possible, to involve the children in building and creating the small worlds. This will increase the children's feeling of ownership, increasing motivation and ensuring that they will want to take care of the small world. It will also prevent practitioner frustration at having the environment that they have lovingly created reorganised!
Make sure that you give the children plenty of time to explore each environment before you change the provision. Ensure that there is time to observe the children as they play, and avoid questions such as 'How many dinosaurs can you see?' Testing children's knowledge during a period of self-initiated narrative play can undermine children's developing language skills, and even put some children off this kind of play. Try instead to listen to children's conversations as the stories develop and take note of the knowledge and understandings that they make explicit to you as they talk.
Environments
It is important to experiment with a range of environments that include the following:
Block play
Add dinosaur small-world figures to the block play area so that children feel inspired to build caves, mountains and other aspects of a prehistoric landscape for their Jurassic inhabitants.
Extend the possibilities by adding the following resources:
* a range of fabrics - for example, hessian, camouflage fabric, net in a range of colours (orange, yellow and red material to create volcanoes, and blue and green fabrics to create landscapes and seas)
* play people
* tree blocks (see Resources, page 16).
Junk modelling
Provide a space for the children to build their own Jurassic environment from a range of junk modelling materials. Offer masking tape as the only joining medium. Do not pressure the children into painting their models; children will usually be satisfied with an unpainted model, as they know what they have created.
Sand mousse
Mix dry sand with washing-up liquid and water to create a squidgy, swamp-like texture. Place the sand mousse in a container such as a builder's tray or similar and add pebbles, stones and pieces of mopani wood (see Resources, page 16). The dinosaur figures will squelch through the mousse to great effect. (Note that this mixture will develop an unpleasant odour if kept for too long!) Cornflour gloop
Mix cornflour, water and green food colouring together to the consistency of runny yoghurt. Place the mixture in a suitable container and add the dinosaur figures. As the children play with the figures, the cornflour will drip from the dinosaurs' feet, leaving a variety of patterns and trails.
Moss
Make a truly prehistoric swamp by using moss (the kind used for lining hanging baskets is ideal). Spread the moss out in a tray (a potting tray is perfect, as it has sides and a back, and will hold some water). Add water until the moss is quite wet, so that a swamp-like feel is created. Add bark, large pebbles and stones and one or two real miniature conifers to complete the prehistoric atmosphere.
Ice age
For something different and exciting, try this unusual environment: Sprinkle a small amount of cornflour across the bottom of a builder's tray, or similar container. Add a pile of ice cubes (three 2kg bags from a supermarket are ideal). Spray the ice cubes with food colouring, diluted in a suitable bottle (red and yellow create a volcanic atmosphere; blue and yellow produce a different kind of environment).
Lastly, sprinkle the cubes with glitter. Add the dinosaur figures and let the stories begin!
This environment is clearly temporary, although when the ice cubes have melted, the coloured water will no doubt prove a fascinating place for the dinosaurs to be.
The great outdoors
Take the dinosaur figures into the outdoor area. Work with the children to collect pebbles, twigs, leaves, etc to create a natural-looking environment. You might choose to do this in a builder's tray, or similar container, or simply by collecting items together to use in a grassy place.
Try to ensure that you don't limit such activities to fine weather.
Rain will add atmosphere to the children's stories!
Display
When you experiment with a range of environments for the dinosaurs, listen to the varied vocabulary that the children are using. Make a note of the words and create a display, accompanied by photographs of the small-world play. Emphasise to parents the importance of such experiences in the development of children as confident, imaginative writers.
Interests
Some children will want to continue playing with the dinosaurs long after the planned topic is over. It is vital that we provide for such needs and desires, as good-quality learning depends on children being motivated, interested and self-directed. However, it can be organisationally difficult to provide for everybody's interests.
One way to support children whose interests in dinosaurs needs to be sustained and developed is through a storybox. This can ensure that prehistoric small-world play is always available.
To make a dinosaur storybox:
* Take a shoe box and cut it so that one long side and one short side fold down.
* Paint the remaining upright sides to look like a prehistoric environment.
(Simply printing shades of green with a small piece of sponge will produce an excellent effect.)
* Crumple some newspaper into a simple volcano shape (accuracy is not required!) and tape it to the bottom of the box.
* Cover the newspaper with strips of damp ModRoc to form a volcano (see Resources, page 16). Allow it to dry, and paint it.
* When dry, add dinosaur figures and some nut husks, small pine cones or similar objects.
* Place the lid on the box, and it is ready for the children to use.
